Two-level suspension in a safety hat



March 3, 1970 c. E. BENNER 3,497,873

TWO-LEVEL SUSPENSION IN A SAFETY HAT Filed May 9, 1968 inns-n IN VE NT02? CHARLES E. BEN/VER KM YW ATTORNE V United States Patent O TWO-LEVELSUSPENSION IN A SAFETY HAT Charles E. Benner, Grosse Pointe Woods,Mich., assignor to Air Reduction Company Incorporated, New York,

N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed May 9, 1968, Ser. No. 728,022 Int.Cl. A42b 1/08 US. Cl. 23 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE One levelof suspension functions to adjust the position and fit of the hatwithout changing or interfering with the operating conditions of theother level of suspension, the function of which latter is to maintain asafe clearance space between the head and the inner surface of the hardshell of the hat to protect the head from impact. Under impact, the headfitting and hat positioning level of suspension is designed to failunder a relatively minor force before the full force of the impact canbe transmitted from the impacting object to the hard shell. Thereupon,the impact-absorbing level of suspension functions alone to absorb thebulk of the energy of impact. The weaker level of suspension maycomprise fragile or brittle material designed to break under the minorforce or to elongate easily or otherwise quickly and effectively toremove itself from action under the impact. However, this material ismade strong enough to perform its function properly and may be composedof plastic or other material selected for special properties such asease of cleaning.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION During the evolution of safety headgear itbecame necessary for reasons of economy to make safety hats in a singlesize or in a minimum of different sizes and to provide adjusting meansin the hat to make it economically possible to fit a wide range ofheads. For this purpose, adjustable headbands were devised so that theycan be expanded or taken in to fit heads of various diameters andcap-like suspension members were connected to the headband and fastenedtogether near the top center by a small loop of cord or other material,called a lacing cord, which is strung through the suspension membersclose to the very center of the suspension system. If the wearer has avery high crowned head, the loop made by the lacing cord would normallyhave to be enlarged so that the hat does not sit too high upon theindividuals head, thus becoming insecure as well as exposing portions ofhis head to injury. If the wearer has a very low crowned head, the loopgenerally has to be taken in so that the hat does not sink too low onthe wearers head, hampering his vision and subjecting his ears to injuryby the headband.

Further safety requirements have brought about the introduction of anadditional suspension system that is not adjustable but is the same inall or many of the hats. This latter system limits the minimum clearancethat can exist between the wearers head and the shell of the hat. Theobject is to provide adequate protection for the wearer even if he failsto adjust or use the adjustable suspension system.

Most established specifications for safety hats of the classcontemplated herein require that the hats be tested with just the fixedsuspension system present. One of these tests involves the placing ofthe hat upon a force measuring device simulating a head and thenstriking a blow of measured force upon the top of the hat. A headgear tomeet the safety specifications, must be found to absorb a certain amountof the energy of the blow, thereby transmitting less than a prescribedforce to the "ice force measuring device, which latter supports the hatand measures the force that would be transmitted to the wearers head ina real situation.

It is an established fact that many of the safety hats on the markettoday which have fixed suspension systems that are within the safetyspecifications for the test just described, would fail to pass the testsif in fact the hat was supported by the adjustable suspension systemduring the test. This is because in many of todays safety hats theaction of the hat in absorbing an impact is materially altered byinteraction of the adjustable suspension system with the fixedsuspension system. The effect of the adjustable suspension system isgenerally to increase the stiffness of the combined system and hence toincrease the force transmitted to the wearers head, making the headgearof this type less safe than might otherwise be the case.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore a primary object of thisinvention to utilize a two suspension system in which a fixed systemserves almost exclusively for impact absorption while an adjustablesystem serves almost exclusively for adjusting the fit and positioningof the hat on the head without materially altering the impact absorbingproperties of the headgear as a whole from what they would be withoutthe adjustable suspension system, particularly so as not to decrease theimpact absorbing capability.

For this purpose, the adjustable suspension system comprises materialsor elements which are relatively weak, fragile, or brittle so as tobreak under a specified minor force, or so resilient as to elongateeasily under said force, or otherwise quickly and effectively to removethe adjustable suspension system from action during the major portion ofthe impact, thus permitting the true safety suspension system tofunction substantially alone in protecting the head of the wearer fromthe force of the impact, in accordance with prescribed safetyrequirements.

The invention substantially eliminates variations in the impactabsorbing properties of the combined suspension that would otherwiseoccur, depending upon crown adjustment, i.e., the degree to which theinner suspension reinforces the outer, safety suspension.

The invention has the advantage that plastic parts, e.g., polyethylene,or other materials that are easy to keep clean can be used in the innersuspension in contact with the wearers head, whereas these materials aredifficult to use in the safety suspension where it is necessary to meetstrength specifications at both high and low temperature extremes.Materials specifically designed for energy absorption and impactresistance over a wide range of temperatures can be used in the truesafety suspension.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will appear from thefollowing more detailed description taken together with the accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is an elevational sectional viewof a safety hat embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary view of a portion of the hat shown in FIG. 1;and

FIG. 3 is a plan view looking toward the crown of the hat shown in FIG.1.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings, there isshown a safety hat having a hard shell 20. An upper, fixed suspensionsystem is illustrated as comprising a plurality of straps 22 meeting atthe top without necessarily being fastened together there, and eachfastened at the lower end to an anchorage 24 which is in turn attachedto a composite headband 26. The anchorage 24 has attached to it, orintegral with it, a projecting tongue 28 which fits detachably into agrooved hook-like projection 30 on the inner surface of the shell 20.

As shown most clearly in FIG. 3, four projections 30 are provided,spaced about the circumference of the shell 20, two near the rear, andtwo nearer the beak 32. The straps 22 are attached to diametricallyopposite anchorages 24, crossing at the top.

The straps 22 are made of material chosen for high tensile strengthunder all temperature conditions of service from very low temperaturesto very high. The ends of each strap are fastened securely to theanchorages 24, for example by loop-ing around the upper part of theanchorage 24 through a hole 34 and securing with firm stitching as atdotted line 36.

The tongue 28 wedges into the grooved member 30 so that headband 26 isrestrained at a fixed distance below the inside of the crown of theshell 20 and so that the straps 22 maintain a minimum clearance from thecrown as indicated by the dimension x shown in FIG. 1.

The fixed suspension system may be of any suitable construction and ispreferably designed to absorb the energy of an impact upon the top ofthe hat while transmitting a minimum of force to the head of the wearer.Straps 22 may, if desired, be fastened together at the top in anysuitable manner. The distance x is made sufiicient to provide therequired margin of safety in order that the head shall not strike theshell 20 before the force of an impact is reduced to a safe amount byenergy absorbing action of the fixed suspension system. For the purposeof disclosing the present invention, it is not deemed necessary toprovide any further description of the fixed suspension system, exceptto say that in normal use the fixed suspension system does not come incontact with the head, nor does it permit any adjustment of the hat tofit the wearers head. In other words, the function of the fixedsuspension system is solely energy absorption and shielding of thewearer from dangerous impact. It is known that various devices areavailable in the art for this purpose.

A second suspension is provided to perform the function of fitting thehat to the head of the wearer and positioning the hat on his head in theabsence of severe impact. This suspension is designed to be relativelyweak compared to the fixed suspension so that it will break away orotherwise fail under a minor force without materially stiffening theinitial reaction of the two suspensions in combination, or otherwisechanging or modifying the action or energy absorbing properties of thefixed suspension per se. In effect, the second suspension is arranged toput itself out of action before the fixed suspension is required toreact to the bulk of the impact.

The result is that the reaction of the fixed suspension to a severeimpact is substantially independent of the physical properties of thesecond suspension. In particular, the stiffness of the fixed suspension,which is of great importance at the instant of impact, is not increasedby structural reinforcement of the fixed suspension by the secondsuspension. That is, the reaction of the hat is not stiffened by the useof the second suspension.

Because the second suspension is not relied upon for impact protection,the wearer is protected to the full capability of the first suspensioneven if he neglects to fasten or make any use of the second suspensionas a means of fitting the hat properly to his head.

An illustrative form of the second suspension is shown in the drawings.Fastened to the headband 26 are a plurality of straps or bands 40 whichare laced together at their upper ends by means of a lacing cord 42 theends of which are tied in a knot 44. The loop formed by the lacing cord42 is by this means made adjustable in length to accommodate heads ofdifferent crown heights. For a low crowned head, the loop formed by thecord 42 is made small, and for a high crowned head the loop is madelarger. Since the second suspension is necessarily lower or inner withreference to the fixed suspension the height of the crown that can beaccommodated is limited by the position of the fixed suspension, whichlatter must be sufiiciently spaced from the shell to provide therequired protection from impact.

The individual strap 40 is fastened at its lower end as by looping itaround a lower portion of the anchorage 24 through the hole 34 and alower hole 46 and stitching as shown at dotted line 28.

In accordance with the invention, the second suspension is made ofsufiicient strength to support the hat on the wearers head duringordinary use in the absence of severe impact. However, in order that thesecond suspension may have the desired breakaway feature as above setforth, the lacing cord 42 is made of suitably limited breaking strengthso that a force relatively minor in comparison with a severe impact willbreak the cord, thus putting the second suspension out of action andallowing the head to come in contact with the fixed suspension.Alternatively, or in addition, the fastening of the straps 40 to theanchorage 24 or to the headband 26 as at the dotted line 48 may be madethe weakest link in the second suspension as by scoring, perforating,weak stitching, or other means, so that the break will occur at or nearthe junction of the straps and the headband. The straps 40 may becomposed of any suitable material, such as webbing, plastic, etc. Areadily cleanable plastic, e.g., polyethylene, has definite advantagesin respect to hygiene.

Provision may be made in known manner to make the headband 26 adjustablein circumference so as to accommodate a range of head sizes.

The composite headband 26 may be of any suitable design. For purposes ofillustration, it is shown as having an inner surface liner 50 of thinplastic material backed by a layer 52 of foam rubber, foam plastic, orsimilar material. The lower edge of the combined liner S0 and backing 52is bent around the bottom edge of an outer band 54 of thicker plasticand stitched thereto as at the dotted line 56.

The anchorage 24 is preferably made of molded plastic in a forkedconfiguration, having a prong 60 to which is attached the tongue 28, andwhich has the holes 34 and 46. The straps 22 and 40 are shown attachedto the prong 60. The other prong '62 is inserted between the foambacking 52 and the outer plastic band 54, the prong 62 being fastened tothe band 54 in any suitable manner.

While illustrative forms of apparatus and methods in accordance with theinvention have been described and shown herein, it will be understoodthat numerous changes may be made without departing from the generalprinciples and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A safety hat comprising a shell and a harness for supporting theshell on a users head and wherein said harness comprises fixedsuspension means having a predetermined characteristic for transferringenergy from the shell to the users head to give protection againstimpact, independent adjustable suspension means for adapting said safetyhat to the use of an individual user, said adjustable suspension meanshaving incorporated therein a breakaway link which will fail under otherthan a minor force thereby to effectively disconnect said adjustablesuspension means leaving said fixed means solely effective to give saidimpact protection without modification by the presence of saidadjustable means.

2. A safety hat comprising, in combination, a hard shell, a fixedprotective suspension attached to said shell and positioned therewithinto determine an initial clearance space between said fixed suspensionand the inner surface of said shell, and an independent adjustablebreakaway head-fitting suspension connected to said shell, said lattersuspension being beneath said protective suspension and initially spacedtherefrom at the crown.

3. A safety hat in accordance with claim 2, in which said breakawaysuspension is designed to fail under an impact which is a small fractionof the impact from which said protective suspension is designed toprovide protection.

4. A safety hat in accordance with claim 2, in which said breakawaysuspension comprises a headband, a plu rality of straps attached to saidheadband, and a lacing cord for adjustably connecting said straps at thecrown to accommodate a range of crown heights,and in which said lacingcord is designed to break under a force which is a small fraction of theforce from which said protective suspension is designed to provideprotection.

5. A safety hat in accordance with claim 2, in which said breakawaysuspension comprises a headband, and a References Cited UNITED STATESPATENTS 2,879,513 3/1959 Hornickel et al 2-3 2,910,702 11/1959 Austin etal. 23 3,187,342 6/1965 Aileo 2-3 3,192,536 7/1965 Benner 23 3,205,5089/1965 Cox 23 JAMES R. BOLER, Primary Examiner

